Thursday, September 4, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, someone said something to me in Central Park as I passed them running that really got under my skin. Clearly, as I'm still thinking about it weeks later. I ran past this middle-aged man and he yells after me, "No fair! You don't weigh anything!" I know he meant it jokingly, and he didn't say it in a mean way at all. In fact, maybe he was trying to be nice by acknowledging my speed. But it really bothered me. Just because I'm a smaller person, does that diminish what I accomplish as a runner?A lot of people have been making comments like this to me. I think they mean the, "You weigh nothing" comments as a compliment, maybe? But I am a person. I have weight. What that weight is is unimportant. I don't care if you are overweight, underweight, or just the right weight. Every runner out there should be acknowledged for their dedication to pounding the pavement. It's just as hard for a 110 pound girl to get the motivation to wake up at 5 a.m. on a weekday to run 8 miles before work as it is for a 250 pound man. The thing I love most about the running community is it's positivity. Runners are always cheering each other on, pushing each other to go faster and farther. So little comments like the ones I've been hearing lately really irk me They undermine the dedication, miles and hours I have put in to getting faster and getting myself ready for this marathon.

End rant. I'll end with a positive Central Park running story! The other day, while I was running, I was pushing myself to catch up to a girl a little ways ahead of me who was rocking it. Once I did, I passed her a little, and for about 4 miles we continued to switch back and forth, pushing each other. Eventually, she left me in the dust, and we never spoke or acknowledged the fact that we were pacing each other, but it was pretty awesome! Have you ever had someone make comments about you as a runner that bother you? Have you had people say things to you as you pass them on a run? Do you race people in the park? Leave me comment, gosh darnit.

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Runspiration

Who of us hasn't considered how our peers will react to our performance in a given race, whether good or bad? And in those moments, whom are we ultimately running for? The sport is difficult enough as it is; doing it for anyone but ourselves makes it unsustainable.